Hello,
Several folks asked that I share what information I gathered, so here goes!
Thanks to the folks who responded with information about the titles.
I have only one of his books, /Life in prison/. It has circulated 10
times since 1998 (that's as far back as our data goes, and also when the
book was new). It looks like it has been used mainly by middle school
students, with a few high schoolers in the mix. All boys except for one
girl.
Since I had to pull the book to get the number, I've decided to just
leave it at my desk today. Tomorrow's newspaper ought to have a story
about whether or not the execution took place, and I'll put the
newspaper and book together on a table.
-----
I have three of them in my school library that serves grades 3-5. I
purchased them when I had a fifth grader (adopted son of a policeman) overly
interested in gangs and wanting to be in one. (Our town has about 4500
people and no gangs whatsoever.) Anyway, I read the books at the time and
thought they were quite good. I had no idea who Tookie Williams was or that
he was the author. When I saw the news about his impending execution, I
recognized the covers of the books he wrote. I think I found the books by
searching in Follett online. However, this was several years ago and I
think the books were quite new at the time. I don't know if the books are
circulating now. I can check on Wednesday when I work in that building. I
suspect that my current crop of students haven't found them
-----
I had them in my prison library, even though the men there were 17 - 70. That was
five years ago, but I remember thinking that they would be good for anyone. Best I
can remember... good for young readers, not new readers. Maybe 4th or 5th grade?
-----
We have Life in Prison in our HS library and I can't keep it on the shelf.
The boys really enjoy it and it is only about 78 pages. I even put it on our
summer reading list since the message is so powerful. Excellent Book.
----
They are short books. AR lists them as upper 3rd, lower 4th grade reading
levels. Our copies are constantly checked out, my school population is
confronted with this problem daily.
-----
We are a 3-5 campus that has had 5 of the books by Stanley Williams which Tookie
collaborated on. They were published by Rosen. We've had these books for 5 years
and they are constantly being read. Usually a student wants to do the whole set
after reading one. Not to get anything started on AR but because they are also AR
books, I believe that has upped the circulation of those books as well. I figure
that if it makes the difference in 1 child it was worth having those books
------
I looked them up on Amazon - they are out of print - selling used for astronomical
sums. THey are written by someone else, with Tookie's face prominently featured on
the cover. Hard to tell if they are any good. I wanted to find them, since I am
in an elementary school where children are recruited for gangs. I think they came
out, went away and now serve as public relations for Mr. Williams.
--
Diane Averett/Librarian
Kerr-Vance Academy
700 Vance Academy Rd.
Henderson, NC 27537
daverett@kerrvance.com
--
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